Africa's super telescopes 'will inspire science boom'

By Oliver Joy, CNN

Updated 0027 GMT (0827 HKT) December 13, 2013

Africa's super telescopes 'will inspire science boom'10 photos

African astronomy – The South African Large Telescope (SALT) is one of the largest single optical telescopes in the world. The super-telescope is capable of seeing the faintest of lights in outer space.

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Africa's super telescopes 'will inspire science boom'10 photos

South African Large Telescope – Sutherland -- four hours drive from Cape Town -- is ideal for studying the stars. The lack of light pollution, the clear skies and predictable climate are a perfect combination for astronomers.

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Africa's super telescopes 'will inspire science boom'10 photos

South African Large Telescope – Stars light up the night sky in South Africa. The main observing site is 1,798 meters above sea level.

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Africa's super telescopes 'will inspire science boom'10 photos

South African Large Telescope – SAAO receives funding from the South African government through the National Research Foundation. SAAO partners with international organizations from all over the world.

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Africa's super telescopes 'will inspire science boom'10 photos

High Energy Stereoscopic System – The High Energy Stereoscopic System (HESS) is located in Namibia, near the Gamsberg Mountains, an area known for its excellent optical quality.

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Africa's super telescopes 'will inspire science boom'10 photos

High Energy Stereoscopic System – The HESS observatory operates with the collaboration of more than 170 scientists, from 32 scientific institutions in 12 countries.

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Africa's super telescopes 'will inspire science boom'10 photos

Entoto Observatory – Ethiopia received investment of $3.4 million to build two telescopes in the Entoto Mountains on the outskirts of the capital, Addis Ababa.

"The site is in an ideal location because there is very little light pollution so the skies are extremely dark," said Nicola Loaring, an astronomer at SAAO. "We don't get extreme seasons here, so it's good conditions for our research all year round."

Based in Sutherland -- a four-hour drive from Cape Town -- the observatory is home to one of the largest single optical telescopes in the world and is symbolic of South Africa's growing commitment to astronomy.

The appropriately named South African Large Telescope is the jewel of the observatory, capable of detecting a candle flame as far away as the moon and light a billion times too faint to be seen by the naked eye, according to SAAO's astronomers.

Loaring said: "(SALT) is used to study a range of astronomical objects from asteroids to exoplanets, which are planets orbiting other suns."

The telescope is funded by a consortium including South Africa, the United States, Germany, Poland, India, the United Kingdom and New Zealand.

In 1996, the South African government, under the leadership of the late Nelson Mandela, identified astronomy as a key area for investment.

In a white paper, lawmakers recognized that if South Africa failed to invest in "flagship sciences" then the country would be viewed as a "second-class" nation "chained forever" to the need for food and clothing.

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Govender added: "The target that we have is to spend 1% of GDP on science and technology. We haven't reached that yet."

But he added that the benefits of financing astrophysics are already paying off by boosting higher education, employing more professors and contributing to the "knowledge economy."

"This is a an exciting time for astronomy in Africa," he said, "inspiring young people toward education, having the skills to develop economies on the continent and build infrastructure."

Govender added: "When we train an engineer to do a job, they gain the right skills, meaning they can go out and contribute to the country's economy in a number of different ways."

In 2018, construction will begin on the ambitious Square Kilometer Array (SKA), an extremely powerful radio telescope based in the deserts of South Africa and Australia, in a partnership with more than 20 countries. SKA South Africa project director Bernie Fanaroff said: "It has already attracted a lot of young people into science and mathematics in South Africa and from other African countries and it's attracted a lot of top-rate scientists."

While South Africa boasts the best resources on the continent, it is just one of the nations leading the way in the pan-African astronomy drive.

Observatories of all shapes and sizes are scattered across Africa in locations such as Burkina Faso, Namibia, Nigeria and Egypt to name a few. Other countries are focusing on training the next generation of astronomers, with the University of Nairobi in Kenya, for example, offering an undergraduate course in astrophysics, designed to train young people to work in observatories.

Telescopes and observatories will continue to spring up in Africa as international cooperation and investment flows into the continent, according to Abiy Tekola, assistant secretary-general at the East African Astronomical Society (EAAS).

He said such a trend "will eventually feed into the economic development of the region."

Established in 2010 to promote awareness of astronomy, EAAS members include Burundi, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda.

And development in the region is already taking off. In October, Ethiopia opened East Africa's largest observatory, in the Entoto Mountains on the outskirts of the capital Addis Ababa.

The facility -- run by the Ethiopian Space Science Society (ESSS) -- is the first step towards a space program, according to group director Solomon Belay.

He said the project, which includes two large telescopes and cost $3.4 million, will inspire children "towards science and technology especially in physics, mathematics, medicine (and) engineering."